Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

On Graph Decompositions And Designs: Exploring The Hamilton-Waterloo Problem With A Factor Of 6-Cycles And Projective Planes Of Order 16, Zazil Santizo Huerta

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation tackles the challenging graph decomposition problem of finding solutions to the uniform case of the Hamilton-Waterloo Problem (HWP). The HWP seeks decompositions of complete graphs into cycles of specific lengths. Here, we focus on cases with a single factor of 6-cycles. The dissertation then delves into the construction of 1-rotational designs, a concept from finite geometry. It explores the connection between these designs and finite projective planes, which are specific geometric structures. Finally, the dissertation proposes a potential link between these seemingly separate areas. It suggests investigating whether 1-rotational designs might hold the key to solving unsolved instances …

The Integration Of Neuromorphic Computing In Autonomous Robotic Systems, Md Abu Bakr Siddique

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Deep Neural Networks (DNNs) have come a long way in many cognitive tasks by training on large, labeled datasets. However, this method has problems in places with limited data and energy, like when planetary robots are used or when edge computing is used [1]. In contrast to this data-heavy approach, animals demonstrate an innate ability to learn by communicating with their environment and forming associative memories among events and entities, a process known as associative learning [2-4]. For instance, rats in a T-maze learn to associate different stimuli with outcomes through exploration without needing labeled data [5]. This learning paradigm …

Sea Level Rise Driven Groundwater Inundation: Effects Of Island Hydrogeology On Freshwater Lens Dynamics, Lauren K. Mancewicz

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Groundwater inundation due to sea level rise poses a threat to fresh groundwater availability in coastal areas, and small islands are particularly vulnerable. On an island, when sea level rises, the freshwater lens also rises due to the difference in density between the salt and fresh groundwater. As the water table rises above the land surface it forms a lake and the water is exposed to additional evaporative losses, reducing the amount of fresh water available. This work aims to improve our understanding of groundwater inundation due to sea level rise and the impact of different hydrogeologic settings and phenomena …

Integrating Arcgis And Redux Using Middleware, Vishnu Vardhan Reddy Rapuru

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The integration of ArcGIS with Redux through middleware presents a novel approach to managing state in geospatial applications. This report outlines the process and benefits of combining ArcGIS’s robust mapping and analytics capabilities with Redux’s predictable state container for JavaScript apps. It begins with an introduction to both technologies, followed by a detailed discussion on the architecture design, focusing on the role of middleware as the linchpin in this integration[1]. The paper highlights the benefits, such as improved state management and application performance, and addresses the challenges encountered during the integration process. Implementation details are provided, including the setup of …

Dependence Of Energy Transfer On Curvature Similarity In Collisions Involving Curved Shock Fronts, Justin Cassell

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In high-speed collisions of projectiles, pressure exerted by a resulting shock wave is so high that even solids begin to flow and hydrodynamics becomes relevant. Jetting results from hydrodynamic instability driving the evolution of an interface following shock loading. Our emphasis in this dissertation is mitigation of instabilities via several shocks and, specifically, the transfer of energy from a shock wave to another object. To that end, in 2022 and 2023 while on-site, we adapted Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) to explore the effects of shock front geometry on the transfer of energy during shock collisions via numerous computer simulations. …

Data Driven And Machine Learning Based Modeling And Predictive Control Of Combustion At Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition Engines, Behrouz Khoshbakht Irdmousa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Reactivity Controlled Compression Ignition (RCCI) engines operates has capacity to provide higher thermal efficiency, lower particular matter (PM), and lower oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions compared to conventional diesel combustion (CDC) operation. Achieving these benefits is difficult since real-time optimal control of RCCI engines is challenging during transient operation. To overcome these challenges, data-driven machine learning based control-oriented models are developed in this study. These models are developed based on Linear Parameter-Varying (LPV) modeling approach and input-output based Kernelized Canonical Correlation Analysis (KCCA) approach. The developed dynamic models are used to predict combustion timing (CA50), indicated mean effective pressure (IMEP), …

Applications Of Independent And Identically Distributed (Iid) Random Processes In Polarimetry And Climatology, Dan Kestner

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The unifying theme of this thesis is the characterization of “perfect randomness,” i.e., independent and identically distributed (IID) stochastic processes as these are applied in physical science. Two specific and mathematically distinct applications are chosen: (i) Radar and optical polarimetry; (ii) Analysis of time series in meteorology. In (i), IID process of a special kind, namely, with a distribution defined by symmetry, is used to link its multivariate Gaussian density to uniformity on the Poincaré sphere. This “statistical ellipsometry” approach is then used to relate polarimetric mismatches or imbalances to ellipsometric variables and suitably chosen cross-correlation measures. In (ii), recently …

Discontinuous Galerkin Methods For Compressible Miscible Displacements And Applications In Reservoir Simulation, Yue Kang

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation contains research on discontinuous Galerkin (DG) methods applied to the system of compressible miscible displacements, which is widely adopted to model surfactant flooding in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) techniques. In most scenarios, DG methods can effectively simulate problems in miscible displacements.
However, if the problem setting is complex, the oscillations in the numerical results can be detrimental, with severe overshoots leading to nonphysical numerical approximations. The first way to address this issue is to apply the bound-preserving
technique. Therefore, we adopt a bound-preserving Discontinuous Galerkin method
with a Second-order Implicit Pressure Explicit Concentration (SIPEC) time marching
method to …

Optimizing Php Api Calls With Pagination And Caching, Parsharam Reddy Sudda

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw Time Traveler (KeTT) project is devoted to mapping the historical and social landscapes of the Keweenaw Peninsula. During the project, it was discovered that the server-side performance needed improvement. To address this issue, the "Optimizing PHP API Calls with Pagination and Caching" initiative was launched. This initiative focused on refining API calls, implementing server caching and pagination, and fortifying security against common vulnerabilities. The project successfully mitigated risks associated with SQL Injection and XSS through meticulous code enhancements while improving error handling. Additionally, the introduction of Scroll-Induced Pagination optimized data delivery, significantly reducing response times, and elevating the …

Les-C Turbulence Models And Fluid Flow Modeling: Analysis And Application To Incompressible Turbulence And Fluid-Fluid Interaction, Kyle J. Schwiebert

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the first chapter of this dissertation, we give some background on the Navier-Stokes equations and turbulence modeling. The next two chapters in this dissertation focus on two important numerical difficulties arising in fluid flow modeling: poor mass-conservation and nonphysical oscillations. We investigate two different formulations of the Crank-Nicolson method for the Navier-Stokes equations. The most attractive implementation, second order accurate for both velocity and pressure, is shown to introduce non-physical oscillations. We then propose two options which are shown to avoid the poor behavior. Next, we show that grad-div stabilization, previously assumed to have no effect on the target …

The Influence Of Volcano Edifice Resonance On The Seismic Triggering Of Thermal Activity At Active Volcanoes, Morgana M. Wilke

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

There is an established correlation between large earthquakes and volcanic unrest, however the mechanisms between this connection are not well understood. Relatively small changes in stress within a volcanic system could be enough to initiate a response. One aspect that could serve to amplify small dynamic stress changes is volcanic edifice resonance triggered by surface waves at resonant frequency. In this paper, we investigate the relationship between thermal activity of volcanoes and various minimum thresholds of Love wave amplitudes at resonance caused by teleseismic earthquakes above a 7.0 M. Satellite-derived thermal data from 25 volcanoes are modeled in relation to …

Chemical Synthesis Of Sensitive Dna, Komal Chillar

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Over the past decades, researchers have tried various chemical methods to synthesize modified oligodeoxynucleotides (ODNs, i.e. short segments of DNAs). Traditional ODN synthesis methods require strong basic, and nucleophilic conditions for the deprotection and cleavage of the ODN from the solid support. However, the sensitive ODNs containing labile functionalities are vulnerable to such harsh conditions. Sensitive ODNs have a wide range of applications in research and pharmaceuticals. To synthesize sensitive ODNs, researchers devised different strategies but no practical methods have been developed. To overcome these challenges, we developed alkyl Dim alkyl Dmoc technology. This innovative technology uses weakly basic and …

Anomaly Mapping Of Heavy And Light Rare Earth Elements In Central Upper Peninsula Of Michigan Using Geostatistics And Fractal Analysis, Sunday Joseph

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Rare earth elements (REEs) have gained significant global importance due to their critical role in supporting the transition towards reduced carbon emissions through industrial applications. REEs serve as essential raw materials for various critical components in modern infrastructure, defense systems, and technological advancements. Geochemical and geophysical data are pivotal in assessing the potential of REEs. Geochemical data provide direct insights into the elemental composition of rocks and soils, offering valuable information on the potential presence and dispersion of REEs. However, the complex geological processes that influence the distribution of REEs often exhibit intricate spatial patterns that may not be fully …

Joint Probability Analysis Of Extreme Precipitation And Water Level For Chicago, Illinois, Anna Li Holey

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

A compound flooding event occurs when there is a combination of two or more extreme factors that happen simultaneously or in quick succession and can lead to flooding. In the Great Lakes region, it is common for a compound flooding event to occur with a high lake water level and heavy rainfall. With the potential of increasing water levels and an increase in precipitation under climate change, the Great Lakes coastal regions could be at risk for more frequent and severe flooding. The City of Chicago which is located on Lake Michigan has a high population and dense infrastructure and …

On The Gaussian-Core Vortex Lattice Model For The Analysis Of Wind Farm Flow Dynamics, Apurva Baruah

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Wind power science has seen tremendous development and growth over the last 40 years. Advancements in design, manufacturing, installation, and operation of wind turbines have enabled the commercial deployment of wind power generation systems. These have been due, in a large part, to the expertise in the simulation and modeling of individual wind turbines. The new generation of wind energy systems calls for a need to accurately predict and model the entire wind farm, and not just individual turbines. The commercial deployment of these wind farms depends on model's ability to accurately capture the different physics involved, each at its …

Invasive Buckthorn Mapping: A Uav-Based Approach Utilizing Machine Learning, Gis, And Remote Sensing Techniques In The Upper Peninsula Of Michigan, Vikranth Madeppa

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

An Invasive species is a species that is alien or non-native to the ecosystem which causes harm to economic, environmental, or human health (E.O. 13112 of Feb 3, 1999). Invasive species have posed a serious threat to ecosystems across the globe. These invasive species have impacts on the biodiversity and productivity of invaded forests. Remotely sensed data is a valuable resource for understanding and addressing issues related to invasive species. This study presents a novel approach for mapping the distribution of two invasive plant species, Common and Glossy Buckthorn, using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), machine learning algorithms, geographic information systems …

Structural Analysis And Interpretation Of Deformation Along The Keweenaw Fault System From Lake Linden To Mohawk, Michigan, Nolan G. Gamet

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw fault is likely the most significant and most studied fault associated with the Midcontinent Rift System. The fault roughly bisects the Keweenaw Peninsula and places Portage Lake Volcanics (~1.1 Ga) over much younger Jacobsville Sandstone (~1.0 Ga). Published bedrock geology maps with cross sections from the 1950s show the fault as a single continuous trace that is locally associated with smaller cross faults and splays. The accompanying cross-sections show hanging-wall volcanic strata having a well-defined, listric geometry with dip decreasing away from the fault to the northwest.

This M.S. thesis presents a structural analysis and interpretation of the …

Uhplc/Ft-Ms Non-Targeted Screening Approach For Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol And Liquid Smoke As Biomass Burning Organic Aerosol Surrogate, D.M.R. Thusitha Dinusha Kumarihami Divisekara

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Biomass combustion contributes a large amount of aerosol particles to the atmosphere impacting the climate system and human health. Identifying the molecular composition of biomass burning organic aerosol (BBOA) is challenging because of its complex nature. Liquid chromatography mass spectrometric non-targeted screening (NTS) methods provide a comprehensive analysis. However, the instrumentation and data analysis are challenging due to the extreme complexity of environmental samples. In the first part of this study, we implemented a new LC/FT-MS data processing approach by combining existing open-source data processing tools, MZmine2.53 and MFAssignR. The method's validity was checked using the standard polyacrylic acid (PAA) …

Molecular Dynamics Modeling Of Polymers For Aerospace Composites, Swapnil Sambhaji Bamane

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polymer matrix composite materials are widely used as structural materials in aerospace and aeronautical vehicles. Resin/reinforcement wetting and the effect of polymerization on the thermo-mechanical properties of the resin are key parameters in the manufacturing of aerospace composite materials. Determining the contact angle between combinations of liquid resin and reinforcement surfaces is a common method for quantifying wettability. It is challenging to determine contact angle values experimentally of high-performance resins on CNT materials such as CNT, graphene, bundles or yarns, and BNNT surfaces. It is also experimentally difficult to determine the effect of polymerization reaction on material properties of a …

Predicting The Reactivities And Reaction Mechanisms Of Photochemically Produced Reactive Intermediates, Benjamin Barrios Cerda

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Photochemically produced reactive intermediates (PPRIs) such as the hydroxyl radical, carbonate radical (CO₃^•-) singlet oxygen (¹O₂) and triplet state of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (³CDOM^*) are formed in sunlit natural waters upon photoexcitation of chromophoric dissolved organic matter (CDOM). PPRIs react with the organic compounds involved in key environmental processes, resulting in transformation products of smaller molecular weight than their parent compounds. Photochemical transformation of these key water constituents due to their reactions with PPRIs may pose potential effects on human and aquatic ecosystems. Consequently, there is a need …

Neuromorphic Computing Applications In Robotics, Noah Zins

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Deep learning achieves remarkable success through training using massively labeled datasets. However, the high demands on the datasets impede the feasibility of deep learning in edge computing scenarios and suffer from the data scarcity issue. Rather than relying on labeled data, animals learn by interacting with their surroundings and memorizing the relationships between events and objects. This learning paradigm is referred to as associative learning. The successful implementation of associative learning imitates self-learning schemes analogous to animals which resolve the challenges of deep learning. Current state-of-the-art implementations of associative memory are limited to simulations with small-scale and offline paradigms. Thus, …

Novel Approaches To Compute Manifold Operators With The Radial Basis Functions Method, Jacob James Blazejewski

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The bulk of this dissertation is mainly composed of four chapters, which are organized as follows: Chapter 1 provides an introduction to the Radial Basis Functions (RBF) method by briefly outlining its historical developments and reviewing the RBF interpolation and the RBF-Finite Difference (FD) methodologies, and their advantages/disadvantages. Chapter 2 describes the Orthogonal Gradients (OGr) method and the Fast OGr method and how these can be used to compute differential operators restricted to hypersurfaces and space curves ($\Gamma$) embedded in R3. We will highlight a challenge of pairing Fast OGr with RBF-FD on nearly flat local clusters and how to …

Additive P-Value Combination Test, Xing Ling

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation includes four Chapters. A brief description of each chapter is organized as follows.

In Chapter 1, some developments on multiple hypotheses tests are introduced. Some preliminaries about the definition and the assumption are included.

In Chapter 2, a Stable Combination Test is proposed to combine $p$-values from multiple hypotheses tests. We show the proposed method controls the family-wise error rate at the target level and maintains asymptotically optimal power even when the elementary p-values from the individual hypotheses are dependent.

In Chapter 3, a deeper dig into the additive p-value combination test is performed. A common idea behind …

Chemical Decomposition Of Flexible Polyurethane Foam To Generate A Media For Microbial Upcycling, Kaushik Baruah

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Polyurethane waste is becoming a global concern as a large amount is being disposed of in landfills every year, and only a fraction is being recycled. Several polyurethane recycling techniques exist, of which ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis is the least explored. Flexible polyurethane foam (FPUF) decomposition can generate amines that can act as a carbon source for the growth of microbial consortia. This study aims to generate a novel media capable of microbial upcycling via ammonolysis and base-catalyzed hydrolysis of flexible polyurethane foams (FPUFs) using ammonium hydroxide and subsequently determine the reaction conditions for maximum solubilization of polyurethane foam in …

Structural Analysis And Slip Kinematics Of The Keweenaw Fault System Between Bête Grise Bay And Gratiot Lake, Keweenaw County, Michigan, Daniel J. Lizzadro-Mcpherson

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Keweenaw fault is perhaps the most significant geologic structure on the Keweenaw Peninsula, with an estimated 7-11 km of reverse slip juxtaposing volcanic strata of the ~1.1 Ga Portage Lake Volcanics above ~1.0 Ga Jacobsville Sandstone. The fault has been interpreted as a rift-bounding normal fault later inverted by compressional pulses of the Grenville Orogeny or, more recently, as part of a detached thrust fault system unrelated to an earlier normal fault. The fault is shown on published maps as a single continuous fault trace whose sinuosity implies multiple fault segments and complex slip dynamics. Mapping along Bête Grise …

Age And Chemistry Of Bell Creek Batholith, Elana G. Barth

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

The Southern Complex, located near Marquette, Michigan is in the southernmost portion of the Superior Province. This complex consists of granitoids and granitic gneiss that vary in composition. In twentieth century research, Hoffman (1987) and Tinkham (1997) concluded that the Southern Complex contained two units in which the granitoid was emplaced in the granitic gneiss. Recent research conducted by Petryk (2019) determined that the Southern Complex has a U-Pb zircon age of 2600 Ma. Dalle Fratte (2020) concluded that the granitic gneiss migmatite texture was the result of a felsic magma mixing with several generations of mafic intrusions that were …

Surface Reconstruction In Iron Garnets, Sushree Dash

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

This dissertation presents the results of a study investigating the physical mechanisms underlying an unexpectedly large increase in magneto-optic efficiency observed in iron garnet. Such materials are technologically important for telecommunications due to their nonreciprocal optical action. In the past, our group had found evidence of an enhanced Faraday rotation in bismuth-substituted iron garnet films less than 50 nm thick. Subsequent investigation revealed that this enhancement could be traced to surface effects. This is significant because understanding these phenomena could be used to formulate engineering solutions for device miniaturization. In this dissertation, we present the result of a research project …

Finer Details Of Language Modeling: Text Segmentation, Working Within Resource Limits, And Watermarking, Evan Gordon Lucas

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Language modeling is a vast sub-field of natural language processing and this work focuses on solving some specific problems within that field. Technically, the work falls into a number of sub-categories within natural language processing; how to segment texts, improving sparse transformer performance for summarization tasks, character level models for dialect determination, watermarking of large language models, and a general method of incorporating minimal human feedback for continual or online learning. Despite touching on many small areas, they all connect as being related to the very general problem of handling sequential data. Language and text can be thought of as …

Types Of Questions Teachers Ask To Engage Students In Making Sense Of A Student Contribution, Nishat B. Alam

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

In the student-centered classroom, a teacher’s interpretation and response to student mathematical contributions plays an important role to shape and direct students’ opportunities for sense-making. This research used a scenario-based survey questionnaire to examine what types of questions middle and high school mathematics teachers indicate they would ask to engage students in making sense of a high-leverage student mathematical contribution and their reasoning about why particular questions are or are not productive. From the results, it could be concluded that teachers asked more productive questions after seeing a set of possible questions. Their beliefs about the productivity of the questions …

Comprehensive Analysis Of Seismic Signals From Pacaya Volcano Using Deep Learning Event Detection, Jessica L. Devlieg

Dissertations, Master's Theses and Master's Reports

Pacaya volcano located 30 km SW of Guatemala City, Guatemala, has been erupting intermittently since 1961. Monitoring of seismicity is crucial to understanding current activity levels within Pacaya. Traditional methods of picking these small earthquakes in this noisy environment are imprecise. Pacaya produces many small events that can easily blend in with the background noise. A possible solution for this problem is a machine learning program to pick first arrivals for these earthquakes. We tested a deep learning algorithm (Mousavi et al., 2020) for fast and reliable seismic signal detection within a volcanic system. Data from multiple deployments were used, …